The present invention relates generally to the field of haptics, and more particularly to haptic control of a surgical tool.
During computer-assisted surgeries, a surgeon may utilize a haptic device. “Haptic” refers to a sense of touch, and the field of haptics relates to, among other things, human interactive devices that provide feedback to an operator. Feedback may include tactile sensations such as, for example, vibration. Feedback may also include providing force to a user, such as a positive force or a resistance to movement. A common use of haptics is to provide a user of the device with guidance or limits for manipulation of that device. For example, a haptic device may be coupled to a surgical tool, which can be manipulated by a surgeon to perform a surgical procedure. The surgeon's manipulation of the surgical tool can be guided or limited through the use of haptics to provide feedback to the surgeon during manipulation of the surgical tool.
A surgical plan is typically developed prior to performing a surgical procedure with a haptic device. The surgical plan may be patient-specific. Based on the surgical plan, the surgical system guides or limits movements of the surgical tool during portions of the surgical procedure. Control of the surgical tool serves to protect the patient and to assist the surgeon during implementation of the surgical plan.
In general, haptic devices for use during surgical procedures can have at least two modes of operation. In free mode, the surgeon can substantially freely manipulate the surgical tool coupled to the device. In haptic control mode, components of the surgical system (e.g., haptic objects) are activated to guide or limit movements of the surgical tool. Use of prior art haptic devices may be enhanced by a mechanism to improve transitions between free mode and haptic control mode during a surgical procedure.